Messengers of Light
by PencilofAwesomeness
Summary: A new darkness rises, one that is almost impossible to beat. But an ancient prophecy brings together seven heroes with powers they didn't know they had in order to defeat the Empress, master of all darkness. Can they hold together and protect their friends, or will light lose this battle for once? Rated T for caution and some gory scenes... Also a crossover with PJO, TT, & Ben 10.


**This...is my masterpiece. I have been working on this story for a while, and it includes just about everyone in some form or another. I have many OCs in there, including all the people in this chapter ('cuz it took place in the past) and three of the characters of prophecy are mine, plus others. If you have questions about the character, feel free to ask me. I also 'tweaked' characters that already existed, giving them more...interesting lives.**

**MAJOR DISCLAIMER! All characters belong to their owners, except for the main two in the beginning, who could arguably be mine if I cut all ties to copyrighted characters...**

Prologue:

The girl raced down the collapsing hallway. She risked a look back. Black wolves with glowing red eyes and fur made of dark matter raced after her. The princess knew she had to make to the chamber before Shinira fell apart due to the raging Dark Tribe.

The Empress, who worked with the Dark Tribe, led several of them as well as the dark creatures that live in her own world to invade Shinira in hope of finding its legendary power source. If she succeeded, the universe would be hers to control.

The princess, one of the only survivors of the Empress' invasion, knew she could not defeat the Empress. At least, not alone.

Her heart sped up and adrenaline pumped through her veins as the dark wolves chased her. Her destination was just around the corner. But as she raced toward the entrance she found it blocked.

Mephiles the Dark, one of the most powerful Dark Tribians known, stood in the entrance of the forbidden chamber. The wolves caught up to her and formed a circle around her, trapping the princess. She tossed her head frantically, looking for an escape from the wolves, which were now closing in on her.

Mephiles chuckled at her misery, even though he did not have a mouth. He struck her with a ball of dark matter. Luckily, she jumped out of the way in time, leaving a black mark on the place where she was standing.

"You will never find the source," the princess snarled.

"We will, as soon as we destroy everything in our path," Mephiles responded.

"You will **NOT!" **Just as she cried out, a burst of energy encase the whole passage in a bright light. Her eyes glowed white and inscriptions covered her body.

The limp bodies hit the wall with a thud. Mephiles was blinded by the bright torrent of light. Taking advantage of the confusion she had caused, she flew into the chamber.

The chamber was a hollowed out cavern with columns carved along the walls and depictions of adventures and tales of the victories of Shinira etched into them. In the middle of the room, a large circle surrounding by thousands of inscription stood. Immediately, she flew onto the circle, standing on a large inscription, one that looked like a backwards 'z' slanted upwards with a curved bottom and a spiraling line that surrounded it; this was the symbol for Shinira.

As soon as her feet touched it, the circle as well as all of the inscriptions lit up in a blinding white light. She began murmuring something under her breathe, but looked up when a shadowed figure slipped into the room. A cloaked woman emerged from the darkness. She pulled back her hood to reveal to reveal slick black hair pulled up in a ponytail. Black eyes with swirling purple and dark red wisps of color looked up at the princess with sinister triumph.

"Mother is dead; you are the last of the ones who betrayed me to die." Her voice was as cool as her pale white skin.

The princess staggered back. "She's…dead? You're bluffing!" she cried in agony as tears ran down her cheeks. Her similar long black hair pressed against her wet face. Her bright green and white eyes clouded with sorrow.

"Oh dear," the Empress spoke in mock pity, "did I upset you?" Her face cracked into a sinister smile. "Let me put an end to your misery!" She tore off her dark cloak to show a long dress and cape of swirling darkness that matched her eyes. Her dress cut down in a 'V' above her chest to reveal her chalky white shoulders. Trumpet sleeves landed loosely on her balled up fists. In her left hand, was a jagged iron dagger that was about six inches long.

In one swift motion, the Empress lunged at the princess, the last Shinirian. She snapped out of her mourning to duck the blow. The Empress landed hard on the other side of the circle. Before she had time to get up and attack again, the girl activated the inscriptions.

Bright white inscriptions covered the chamber and the girl, while green light poured out of her mouth and shone through her eyes. Images and symbols swirled around the princess.

"You will be defeated once and for all in times to come, long after you are sealed off from the rest of the universe for a millennium," she said in a far off, echoic voice. A prophecy, one of the first, then followed.

_"Seven warriors from ancient decent,_

_ Shall follow the path of light._

_Darkness flows through the depths of time,_

_For the balance will be decided in the final fight."_

The prophecy the girl spoke became engraved around the Shinira symbol as a blinding light filled the room. The Empress growled in outrage, lunging at the princess once again, this time grabbing her shoulder. Yanking, she dragged the girl out of her trance and off the pedestal. She lifted her jagged blade, but her blow was halted by a shield of energy.

The princess held up her hand, sustaining the shield of swirling green wisps above her. "You didn't have to do this," she whispered in a low tone, "We could have solved this."

"_We!_" the Empress spat, "You stood by this kingdom full of fools as they turned against me! But that will change soon, when I lead this miserable world to greatness."

The girl's sorrow for her torn kingdom faded into anger. "Traitors do not lead worlds to greatness," she snarled in a low tone. "Your future will be haunted by the pain of those you destroyed in your mad quest for power. We tried to help you!" Small tears poked out her eyes. "Instead, you turn and destroy all of those you ever held dear. Do you think that will change what happened?!"

The Empress gripped her sword so hard her knuckles turn even whiter as she shrieked in rage. A wild look was in her eyes as she continued to shriek her protests. "_She_, the-the queen, did _nothing_ for me, not even when I wanted her close to me! You only stuck to her because you too much of a-a _weak_ _goody_ to think for yourself! You could have joined me, but you've sealed your fate. And yes, once I kill you, the last of my enemies, everything _will_ change!"

She raised her blade, and a swirling vortex of darkness formed in her hand, launching it at the girl. As soon as it made contact with her shield, the shield shriveled up and dissipated in the air in a gray mist.

The girl stammered backwards, but quickly regained her balance, flinging a wave of green energy back at her, preventing her from stabbing the princess with her wicked sword. The Empress was knocked back, but she still managed to fling more chilling dark matter towards her target.

She was caught off guard, and the dark matter hit her chest; it began to eat away at her clothes and flesh. Merely flinching at such an attack, she tore away the dark matter, shredding it to dust with a flash of light.

Determined to end the threat soon, she took a stride towards the Empress, surrounding herself in the essence of time on the way. The Empress tried to get up, but the princess placed her foot on her chest.

"Remember what has been said," the girl spoke with her first glimpse of the things to come, "Seven warriors, with the balances in their favor, will defeat you, once in for all. But for now, you will bother no one." The green-white mist spread over the Empress' body, grabbing at her molecules and pulling them to her prison. She thrashed and thrashed, but the girl's words had shaken her too much. As the last of her was sucked into the abyss that would become her new home, she squeezed her eyes shut, and screamed for vengeance.

The princess, the last of her people, stood in the shattered remains of the kingdom of her birth. Closing her eyes, she let the essence of her people seep into her, filling her with the power over all that Shinira once had been. Slowly, she turned around and stood once again of the raised platform full of the inscriptions of the Shinirians.

Knowing what must happen, she activated the inscriptions. They shone brightly, like mini stars, and then rose up off the ground. Swirling around the girl, she pushed her arms outwards, sending them off into the cosmos as they faded away. At that moment, the light in the room faded as the source of the Shinira flew off, becoming the mother of many. The girl wrapped herself in her own energy, taking herself along with the flow of the Shinira power, leaving the cold, stone room empty, except for the tears that were left in the spot where the Empress and been swept away to her prison.

**I'm sure you must be very confused right now. That's only natural, because that's pretty much the purpose of this chapter-prologue thing. I am not going to reveal yet who the heroes of prophecy are yet, but if you review and ask me I might! ;D Please note that this is a huge story, and I'll try to update as soon as I can.**


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